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In many Lansing-area communities, a long list of rates, fees and surcharges are tallied to calculate what a water customer will pay.

In large part, water bills include water usage information, a charge that is multiplied by the amount of water used and one or many fixed fees or charges.

Take, for example, a monthly bill from the Lansing Board of Water & Light, which serves about 55,000 commercial and residential customers in several different communities.

According to a bill provided by BWL Spokesman Stephen Serkaian, a customer in Bath Township with a three-quarter inch meter would pay a fixed basic service charge of $17.08. That fee doesn’t change based on water usage.

The commodity charge of $2.79, however, would be charged per CCF of water used. In this case, the resident used 5 CCFs — which is equal to 500 cubic feet or 3,740 gallons of water. That cost is $13.95.

The power and chemical cost adjustment of nearly 16 cents — which is based on the average cost of electricity, steam, oil and chemicals used in treatment and pumping facilities — also would be multiplied by the 5 CCFs of usage for a total of 80 cents.

Water usage is calculated by looking at the increase between the “BEGINNING READING” and “ENDING READING” on a meter. The difference on the bill provided by BWL between the beginning reading of 1,784 and ending reading of 1,789 is 5 CCFs.

BWL also charges communities within its service area $517 for each hydrant the community has, Serkaian said. The charge covers hydrant maintenance, as well as the larger water mains, storage capacity and pump capacity needed to fight fires.

Some communities absorb that cost, Serkaian said, while others distribute it to customers through a water hydrant surcharge that differs depending on where you live.

In Bath Township, the water hydrant surcharge is 20% of the bill. In this specific bill, 20% of the $31.83 subtotal would be $6.37.

The total of the basic service charge, commodity charge for water usage, power and chemical cost adjustment and water hydrant service charge would come to $38.20.

Unlike BWL, many Lansing-area communities surveyed by the State Journal charge per 1,000 gallons instead of by CCFs.

Sewer bills have components similar to those found on water bills and, in many cases, are based on a home's water usage, since what comes into a home eventually goes into the sewer. In other cases, a sewer bill includes just one fixed fee that does not rise or fall with water usage.

Contact Reporter Beth LeBlanc at 517-377-1167 or eleblanc@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @LSJBethLeBlanc.